The Northern Alliance
by darkerego
Summary: Humanity is the newcomer to the galactic stage. Follow the struggle to uplift humanity and defend the NORTHERN ALLIANCE. Rated T for now.
1. Lift off

**Mass Effect: Northern Alliance**

My story is an AU fic.

2058 CE: Plans for the International Space Station 2 begin.

2059 CE: NASA and European Space Agency launch joint space flight to Mars.

2062 CE: Prothean ruins are discovered and classified.

2065: Scientists were able to partially decipher data caches found throughout the ruins, learning much about the Protheans and the is discovered.

2067:NASA launches space probe equipped with Eezo powered drive. Charon relay is discovered.

2068: Russia is invited by the ESA to participate with US and Europe; they accept.

2072: German scientists successfully reverse engineer Prothean technology and are able to understand its workings.

2073:US, Canada, Europe and Russia, due to their geographical locations, create the Northern Astronomical Association.

2075: Probe is launched and successfully activates Charon relay

2076: The first manned flight is sent through the Charon relay on shuttles equipped with Mass Effect Drives.

2077: Through much government cooperation and economic partnership, relations of the north Atlantic countries have heavily improved. The Northern Astronomical Association gives way to the Northern Atlantic Alliance.

2077: Entire Prothean language is deciphered. Archives detailing the Citadel and the Reapers are discovered and classified.

2077: The NAA begin to discuss and develop massive space military.

2078: Construction on the ISS 2 begins near Arcturus.

2084: Two more relays are activated to expand borders for more resources.

2089: Scientists successfully develop Warp technology, which is not based on Prothean.

2091: The first human Relay is created. It serves the same purpose as the mass relays but is not based on Prothean technology.

2096: The first Warp equipped dreadnought, NAS Galice, begins construction.

2100: The ISS 2 is completed. It has a diameter of 30 miles. Military and civilians begin to populate the station

2100 – Construction of the NAS Galice, is completed.

The NAA fleet was spread throughout the solar system to act as a defense force.

The Northern Alliance took it upon themselves to expand and defend humanity.

The NAS Galice will be the first ship to sent to establish formal relations with the alien species.

5 - 12 - 2100, 0830 hours

_The NAS Galice, a marvelously constructed ship. The white sheen glowed as light made contact with it, the words NAS GALICE etched in black. Crewed by nearly ten thousand, the Galice was one of the largest dreadnoughts built. Over 2000 fighter craft lay waiting inside the massive ship, backed by a force of 6000 trained fighters._

"I am proud to present the rank of Captain to Ivan Tsisros. He will serve as the captain of this ship!" The crowd cheered while Ivan stood straight as Nikolai Cherov, the Russian president, pinned the captain insignia to his dress. The new captain shot off a quick salute, shaking the president's hand as he walked towards his fellow officers.

Ivan leaned towards the man next to him and whispered in his slight Russian accent, "And I thought I was a long speaker." Lieutenant Erik Numen merely chuckled, his friend and mentor always having something to say. The crowd cheered as the presidents stepped down from the podium, walking towards the designated viewing area.

Servicemen and women from different countries matched side by side, each in step with one another. The spectators watched on silence as commands were shouted, each person lifting their rifle. The crew of the Galice stood rigid as two men approached the side of the ship, one carrying a bottle of champagne.

As if perfectly synchronized, the bottle of champagne burst open as the parade fired their rifles, the crew of the Galice performing a salute. The crowd erupted in cheers and cries of happiness as the crewmen walked towards the ship.

1650 hours

The liftoff was flawless. After quickly jumping to the ISS 2 for a brief supply check, the Galice began it's journey.

Much of the crew had already been on board and unloading their materials during the ceremony. Lieutenant Erik walked along the bridge, hearing other servicemen run diagnostics to make sure all was in order, crewmen rushing past him to get to there post. The intercom came to life, "All officers report to Mess Hall, deck 2." It was time for lift off. Ivan turned to Erik and said, "You go. I'll go be up there in a moment." "Aye aye, sir" he spoke before rushing off.

As Ivan waited alone in the elevator, he took out a picture from his breast pocket and smiled. Two women sat beside a lake, one laughing and the other smiling towards the camera. He kissed the picture and placed it back just as the elevator arrived. As he stepped out, the people in the room stood up and saluted him as he walked across the room. Ivan did the same before taking his seat.

Navigator Henry was standing next to a large projector, one side showing an image of the citadel and the other showing the star system. "This is the citadel," he pointed to the picture. "And this is its proximity to us." All of the officers had been briefed of their current mission; locate and attempt the establishment of friendly relations with alien species. "We don't know what we'll find when we get there, but I believe we must assume all contacts are non friendly." A sergeant stood up and asked, "Why so, do you think these aliens would just shoot on site? I'm sure they're smarter than that, sir." Nvgtr. Henry replied "If I saw some unknown force approaching, I would surely ready my defenses."

The meeting concluded shortly after, most of the officers heading to their post. The jump to the Citadel would be in one hour.

**Annnnd I'm done! Again I apologize for changing the story, but I just felt I could better it this way. I hope you enjoy it, and remember; feedback is critical so please review. I'll try to update maybe once or twice a week. I'll get a better feel for the story the more I work on it. In case anyone is wondering about my other story, I'll update that real soon.**


	2. Growing Concerns

**I want to clarify something that may be potentially confusing. The NAA has people from multiple branches serving on their vessels, an example is Lieutenant Erik. He is part of the army, not the navy. The three branches are the navy, marines, and army. The 'air force' was put back into the army. REMEMBER, I HAVE DRASTICALLY ALTERED CHAP 1!**

Humans don't have omni-tools. They do have wrist computers that have holograms though. I'm going to call then pda's.

Teryk Vateel strolled past the row of chairs, drink in hand, as the dark room illuminated by the holographic displays. "_You're cleared for docking," "Head to D-26" "Yes, we just received the shipment"_ It was all just background noise to him. He was the Docking Administrator, being in charge of giving clearance and directions to incoming and outgoing ships. A Salarian spoke up. "Um, sir, I'm getting some strange readings from one of our sensors by the relay." "Bring up a visual," the Turian gruffly replied. The salarian quickly input a few commands, bringing up a live video feed. Static erupted onto the screen, obscuring the view. _Hmm,_ he thought. Leaning over the salarian, Teryk adjusted the settings, the feed beginning to clear. The glass fell from his hand, mandibles wide in shock.

"By the spirits, what is that?"

–

The NAS Galice burst through the relay, the blue streak of ftl slowly dissipating. The enormous dreadnought had the Citadel in its sights.

–

Civilians were in a panic, screaming and running in fear. Citadel Security was attempting to establish order, though it was in vain. The turian Councilor Neptus, a former general in the Hierarchy, shouted commands throughout the station. "Organize the Citadel Defense Force! Block off whatever that is from getting any closer!" Several frigates, cruisers, and destroyers quickly launched to intercept. The dreadnought.

–

"Exiting FTL and re-syncing drives," announced the pilot. Inside the conference room, a small group of officers were gathered, including the captain. "Captain, thy're organizing a defense!" shouted Major Kyle. "Sir, we're picking up incoming bogeys," spoke Ensign Williams. She served as the assistant of the captain himself. Capt. Ivan stood over the table. The surface lit up as a touchscreen projector, showing movements of the citadel fleet. Activating the intercom, he said "I want fighters mobilized and ready defensive formations." Ivan looked over to Erik. "That means you too lieutenant, double time!"

"Yes sir," spoke Erik, a grin slowly appearing on his face as he moved out. He couldn't suppress his excitement; he had been itching to get in the cockpit of his FS-27. He stepped out of the elevator and into a crowd of hundreds as people hurried to their positions.

The Council had gathered inside of their chamber. A guard approached the turian councilor, whispering in his ear. Councilor Neptus dismissed him, turning to face the others in the room. "Do we have any information on what is going on?" he asked. The asari, Councilor Ilari T'Eris, stood and asked, "Have we made an attempt to communicate with them? We do not wish to have an incident over a misunderstanding."

The salarian, Councilor Muru stood. He was oddly tall for a salarian and had a short temper. "Communicate with them? They have told us enough by bringing a dreadnought into our space!" He emphasized his point by slamming his fist into the table. The guard approached the table and said, "Councilors, you need to see this." He lifted his omni-tool toward the table, the screen changing to a view from a defense frigate.

Lieutenant Erik climbed into his fighter, sealing the canopy. His radio cackled to life as the air commander issued orders. "I want squadrons Alpha and Charlie to assume upper defense. All other squadrons fan out." Airmen collectively replied affirmative. "All fighters begin launch."

The council and the defense fleet stared in awe at the event unfolding before their eyes. Hundreds upon hundreds of fighters emerged from the massive carrier. They moved in formation and established a protective barrier around the dreadnought.

Capt. Ivan stared at the screen, observing the citadel fleet slow their pace. Speaking into the intercom, he said, "This is your captain. I order that radio silence be maintained." He turned and looked at the other two men in the room, his face illuminated by the glow of the screen. Ambassador Helen Wilks had been assigned to formally establish relations and represent the Northern Atlantic Alliance, and by possible extension, humanity.

Nav. Henry walked forwards. "Sir, we need to communicate with these aliens in order to avoid some sort of incident. We don't know what type of technology they possess, let alone how many of them are even here." Ivan nodded in agreement. "If I may, captain, I have an idea of how to proceed with this," spoke the ambassador. The men turned to her. "Well then, let us hear it. I doubt these aliens haven't thought of these same risks as we have."

As hours passed, it seemed neither side was taking any action. The turian guard reentered the room, saluting the councilors. "Our techs have reported a signal keeps being sent to us. They were able to just barely get something," he spoke, pressing buttons on his omni-tool. The holo-projector showed an image of two figures standing next to each other. The taller one on the left was a male, and on the right a female.

"What- what is this?" asked the salarian. The asari looked up towards the screen. "They must be showing us what they look like," she spoke. "The smaller one looks just like an asari, but with something on top of her head."

The turian spoke into his omni-tool, "Recall the fleet. Tell them to fall back." Turning to his councilmen, "We must show then we are wiling to negotiate." he spoke. "Agreed," replied the asari. She typed something on her tool before looking up. "Guard, send word to the tech teams to send a message to this species." The guard nodded and walked out.

"Their fleet is pulling back," announced the pilot. A collective sigh was heard throughout the ship, as everyone had been on edge. "Captain, I'm receiving some sort of signal." Forward it to the communications center," said Ivan. "Aye aye, sir," replied the pilot." Ivan ruined his nose, sighing with tiredness. "All fighter groups return except for premier defense," he spoke into the intercom.

After several hours of analysis, the communications team requested a meeting with the captain. With several other officers with him, Ivan entered the Comm room.

Lieutenant Smith walked forward. "Hello captain. We successfully been able to decipher the message that was sent to us," she spoke. She nodded towards a crewman who began to play the message. The voice of a female spoke.

_"Greetings, newcomers. You have raised arms against the Citadel, and with it, the Citadel fleet."_

Ivan looked at Nav. Henry, who seemed to be muttering under his breath.

'What the hell is this?' he thought to himself.

_"This of course will be forgiven, seeing as you were ignorant of this. We wish to have communication with you and conduct a proper welcome. We apologize for any trouble this may have caused you."_

The message ended, and all were quiet. One of the crew spoke, breaking the silence. "That's a hell of a way to greet someone," he said. Chuckles were heard throughout the room, but Ivan was unfocused.

Ivan walked forward, the crew springing to attention. "I want communications with this 'council' immediately!" he ordered. Crewmen moved quickly to set up a signal broadcaster.

"We must take action immediately!" Salarian councilor Muru yelled, pacing around the room. Councilor Neptus sighed, saying, "For a salarian, I would've expected you to think more logically about this." The salarian gaped at him, face in shock.

"You dare insult me?" he asked, rushing in front of the turian's have. "These aliens have raised arms against us-"

"They've raised nothing towards anyone you fool! If anything, they were merely preparing to defend themselves!" Neptus cut in. The two moved close to each other until they both bumped into a barrier. They both looked at Eiris who dropped the barrier.

"I have had enough of this for now. First you two send that piece of vorcha message, and now this fool is saying we strike them?" spoke Neptus. "This meeting is on hold," he said, exiting the room. The salarian turned and faced the asari, face in anger. She rubbed her temples with her hands, eyes closed in irritation.

"Can you two ever agree on anything without having to argue? I swear, an elcor is more pleasant to listen to," she said. The salarian walked beside her, gently placing his hands on her arms.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "That turian always manages to hey under my scales." Ilari looked up saying, "I have an idea. Why not just have an STG craft sneak close and monitor them?" she suggested.

And that's chapter 2. As you can see, the turian and salarian have many disagreements. Stay tuned for more.


	3. Chapter 3

Councilor Muru was about to reply when a loud chirping noise sounded. He jumped back just as the door opened, Councilor Neptus rushing in followed by a salarian tech. Neptus spoke, "We are being hailed." The councilors quickly rushed to stand by their podiums, the salarian worker furiously typed on his omni-tool. The hologram in the center of the floor began to change.

The room was utterly silent as Ivan stood on a raised platform. The lights in the room dimmed, the only illumination coming from the computers scattered throughout the room. Multiple projectors lowered from the ceiling, the floor under them brightening. The machines sprang to life as the signal was finalized.

"Connection established, sir."

Intakes of breath were heard as images of the figures appeared. A thin, reptilian figure with light brown skin stood to the left. The blue creature from the earlier message appeared, the crew still in awe about how human she appeared. To the far right stood a tall creature, the light reflecting off of his metallic gray skin. Seconds passed by, though it felt like minutes. The first one to speak was the tall alien.

"Greetings, alien. I am Councilor Neptus, the representative of the Turian Hierarchy. We are the Citadel Council and we wish to welcome you." The salarian stepped forward, eyes roving on Ivan as if sizing him up.

Ivan stood straight and looked directly at the salarian, narrowing his eyes.

"I am the salarian Councilor Muru," he spoke, giving a slight bow of his head. The asari stepped forward.

"Hello. I am Ilara T'Eris, the representative of the asari," she spoke.

_'So she is the one who sent that message.'_

Ivan slowly walked forward, standing to his full height. At 6 foot 4, he was by no means short, standing above the asari and salarian holograms. His thick but deep voice came aloud.

"I am Captain Ivan Tsisros of the Northern Alliance and the captain of this vessel," he spoke, slightly nodding his head towards the councilors. The turian councilor spoke, "We seem to be in a strange predicament. We were under the assumption we were being attacked." Muru coughed. "It seems we had a misunderstanding," Ilara said.

"Yes," spoke Ivan. Councilor Neptus seemed different to Ivan. Even through the projector he could tell there was something predatory about both the salarian and asari, especially because of the message. Neptus seemed to possess something that he couldn't quite identify. An awkward silence seemed ready to descend upon the conversation until councilor Muru spoke.

"What exactly are you, in terms of your race? What is the Northern Alliance?" he asked, his large eyes roving around, studying his surroundings.

"I am a human," he replied. "The Northern Alliance is one of humanity's greatest achievements. We represent an alliance of many powerful nations from our home world. As the captain of this vessel it is also my duty to establish relations with aliens until formal discussions can be held."

"Perhaps an ambassador could be sent for a proper meeting? That would allow us a more welcome discussion," suggested Ivan.

After a few more moments of discussion, Councilor Ilara spoke. "This day has been filled with many events. I believe it would only be proper to adjourn this meeting for now and continue later after we have all processed this."

One by one, the holograms disappeared into nothingness, prompting the lights in the room to turn back on. Ivan turned to find everyone in the room looking towards him.

"Ensign, get me in contact with Alliance Command," he ordered. "Also, tell Nav. Henry to meet me on the officers deck," he said as he walked out the room. The ship was surprisingly quiet and the hallways appeared empty as he began to head towards the elevator.

Muru sighed as Neptus began to speak. Considering that the turians were the largest military, it was slightly ironic that the turian councilor always wanted to broker some sort of deal rather than fight, especially considering his record. Neptus was a highly decorated soldier, reaching the rank of general before becoming the councilor. Muru brought his attention back to the matter at hand.

"I feel that it is only appropriate for us to accept and attempt to integrate the humans with the council," spoke the turian. "What if these humans attempt to hold our ambassador hostage, or they plan to attack us?" Muru voiced? Neptus glared at the salarian.

"It seems you are just hoping for an excuse to shoot them," he spoke, pacing around the table. "Just think for a moment. Why, first of all, would they possibly ruin relations by doing something as stupid as that? Not only are they outnumbered, but they would not last in some type of prolonged fight!" Neptus yelled.

Ilara sat across from Muru, cocking her head to the side. "I think both parties could benefit from this meeting," she spoke. She looked at her fellow councilors for a moment before standing and walking towards the window. "We send in our ambassador and continue our talks, and at the same time we can send a spectre aboard and possibly glean information from them." She turned and looked at her companions, a neutral look upon her face.

A smirk appeared on the salarian's face as he looked at Ilara. "I think I can agree to that," said Councilor Muru, standing from his chair. Neptus clacked his mandibles in annoyance. "I disagree," he murmured. Ilara didn't spare him a glance as she spoke. "It is decided then. I believe Tela Vasir would be the most qualified to shadow the ambassador. I will personally inform her then," spokethe asari, quickly walking towards the exit. When the door shut, Neptus walked towards the window and stood. It seemed like the night cycle was going to begin soon.

The turian spoke angrily, with fire in his voice. "What need is there to be deceptive? Have you even thought about the repercussions if the humans found out about this?" he demanded. Muru let out a sharp laugh causing Neptus to turn around.

"Then what? They would attack Spectre Vasir, and being in council space, that would be cause to defend ourselves," he said, smugly. Neptus'eyes widened in disbelief. "The honorable thing would be to allow the humans-"

"Neptus Ki'ren, the 'oh so honorable' turian!" Cut in Muru. "Why are you even a councilor if you seem to disagree with every decision?" he spoke. The two approached one another, standing face to face. "You dare question my honor? What do you know of it?" the turian hissed, clenching his fists.

Muru looked unimpressed. "I may not have fought as long as you Neptus but I don't believe honor is massacring civilians, especially if it was my fam-" Neptus roared as he struck Muru in the face, knocking the salarian to the floor and jumping on top of him in anger. Neptus grabbed his collar and held his fist up.

Muru didn't know. Most salarians couldn't understand how it was to make the hard calls. Even many turians didn't know. But Neptus did. That's why he was different. His mind snapped back into focus, standing atop the bloodied salarian with his fist poised for another blow. He was better than this he thought standing up.

"You don't know the meaning of honor, Muru. Don't ever question mine." And with that, Neptus strode to door, the salarian glaring at his back as he left.

**Things are about to start picking up faster. Expect chapters to come out quicker because I know how I want to take this story. As always, reviews are appreciated. Have a good day.**


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